AM News: Texas Opts For Old-School NCLB Waiver

Texas to Apply for NCLB Waiver PK12:  Texas is not applying for the formal waiver that the department has spelled out, but as is the Texas way, wants to create its own waiver proposal. "This allows us to define the waiver request without agreeing to the strings that were attached to the NCLB waiver," Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe told me. (This is the routeCalifornia wants to take, too.)

Texas to seek waiver from No Child Left Behind Act Fort Worth Star Telegram: After getting comments from school administrators and the public, Williams plans to make the request to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has general authority to waive federal requirements, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency said. Gov.

Montana not interested in tying teacher evaluations to test scores Hechinger Report: Juneau, the first Native American woman to win a statewide election, also spent some of her speech talking about other ways Obama’s helped Native Americans.

Recess In Chicago? Strike Threat Draws National Eyes NPR: Marty West, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education, says teacher strikes are high-stakes affairs. That's one reason we haven't seen many. He says all eyes are on Chicago. "Many districts are in a situation not too different from Chicago's, and how this plays out will be important in determining what goes on nationally," he says.

Students Say They've Been Denied The Right To Read NPR: Their families have sued the state of Michigan, arguing it has failed to provide remedial help to students whose reading skills are years behind. The outcome of the lawsuit could affect how school districts around the country deal with remediation.

A New Way to Tackle College Algebra TexasTribune: “Nationally, the single greatest academic barrier to student success is mathematics,” said Michael Moore, senior vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies at the university. Seeking to improve the situation, U.T.-Arlington officials decided to take an approach that is becoming increasingly common throughout the country: letting computers do the teaching.

Districts Require E-Courses for Graduation EdWeek: While some states, such as Alabama, Florida, Idaho, and Michigan, have laws requiring that students take at least one online course before graduation, Kenosha is one of a small number of districts adopting the mandate on their own, without state pressure.

Ryan Supports Prayer in Schools If States Agree ABC News: GOP VP nominee Paul Ryan says he supports prayer in public schools if approved by states

Comments

[Sarah]

Wow, there are lots here that caught my eye. Prayer is allowed in schools voluntarily, and I have no problem with a fellow student who wants to pray. To make it mandatory before games, graduation, etc. I don't feel that's fair to everyone. Leaving it up to the state rather than the parents, definitely not cool. It makes me wonder what would happen to the student who opted not to pray. There was a high school girl in Vermont who was ridiculed for not standing up during the Pledge of Allegiance during an assembly. I see this prayer issue following a similar line.

[Sarah]

E-courses for graduation. I don't have an issue with that at all. I wish more students in my high school had taken advantage of all the online courses they offered us. I do worry about all the new "requirements" schools throw out in general though. Education is a flawed system, of that I don't argue, but I saw a newspaper article a few days ago about a local high school that is testing a new "performance-based" program that will require part-time jobs or apprenticeships as part of the "graduation portfolio" before students can graduate. For a student without a car or means to get to a job, requiring work experience for graduation seems absurd.